Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-03-25
EARLY GARDENING.
The First Paintings and the Best Varieties
How 10 Secure Early Vegetables

lht rilsb anu lilt bCsl NdIlcllcs-
How TO Secure Early Vegetables.
There is a peculiar satisfaction in an
early garden. The first dish of vege-
tables always tastes the best, and the
flavor is perceptibly heightened if the
vegetable is fit to gather in our own gar
den little earlier than in our neighbours
not that We would have our neighbor
succeed less than ourselves, but there is a
luxury in being able to present ones
neighbor with the first mess of spinach,
lettuce or green peas, before his own arc
fit to use. 1T is NOSE blessed to give
than to receive"
The sooner our early paintings are
made the better provided the soil is not
worked before it is sufficiently dry. The
garden should not be stepped upon as
long as the earth paeks into clods be-
meath the feet. But when the surface
soil has become so dry that it no longer.
sticks to the shoes, and shoySlful thrown
upon the ground breaks up int many
fragments, the sooner the seess of car
rots, parsnip., lettuce, onions, beets,
spinach, radishes and peas are planted
the better. The first four named rarely
vegetate well unless planted very early.
The others need not be hurried so much
table.
An excellent way to plant the seeds of
carrots and lsrsnips, which are especially
liable to fail, is to use a twelvs-inch board
having a strip of lath nailed along one
edge, as hand moulding is nailed on q
door casing. Rake the bed level, and
make the surface fine. Lay the board
across it, SO that the lath comes downward,
and just where you want the first row.
Walk across on the board once or twice
and tho lath is pressed into the soil, max
ing plain mark. Turn the board over
and plant the seeds in this mark, aud in
stead of covering them with soil, use fine
sand, filling the mark Just level full. The
sand acts as mulch, keeping the seeds
moist. In it there are no Jumps to hold
plantlets down, and it plainly marks the
rows so that the bed may be hood over
before the plants are up. The earliest
carrot is the French Forcing, called also
Early Forcing. Extra Early Forcing, ste
For the main crop the half-long sorts are
more productive. In parsnips nothing 10
better than the old Hollow Grown. For
lettuce, Prize Head Black -seeded Simpson.
All the Year around, White Chaviyne and
Deacon are al: excellent. For early onion.
it is best TO plant sets" For the main
crop nothing is better than Yellow Dan
vers.
Egyptian is the earliest beet. It Is well
to make planting of ..Half-Lorg Blood
in May for winter use, The virofay is
the most rapidly growing spinach. Of
rsdishes, early Long Scarlet and Woods
Early Frame are perhaps as good as any.
The pea sold as CIeveland's Rura, New
Yorker (this is not its ouly nsms) is per-
hRps az early as any. The Alaska mod
ern Kentish Invicta, is quite as early A
planting of either of these with one of
American Wonder, the earliest wrinkled
pea is sufficient for start
1t Is best to plant radishes in a bed OF
sand, otherwise the roots are very liable
to be ruined By the Larvae of the redish fly
Procure from some market gardener a
few plants of early Wakefield or Etampes